“Lucy Has Her Eyes Examined”

“I was just thinking about a television show I saw last night…”

(S3;E11 ~ December 14, 1953) Directed by William Asher. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed November 12, 1953 at Ren-Mar Studios. Rating: 55.2/80

Synopsis ~ A new Broadway musical is casting and Lucy and the Mertzes want to land parts. Unfortunately, Lucy’s eye exam leaves her a nearsighted mess just before the big audition.

The date this episode first aired Tempo, a pocket news magazine, did a cover story on COLOR TV: WHEN, WHAT, HOW MUCH.  For CBS, those answers would be several years off; for Lucy fans, more than a decade!  Two weeks earlier, Lucy and Desi were on the cover of Tempo (November 30, 1953). 

This episode has two callbacks: 

1. Ricky gets some ice cream from Mrs. Benson, who now lives upstairs in 4A, the Ricardo’s old apartment. Although she does not actually appear in this episode, she was last seen in “The Ricardos Change Apartments” (S2;E26). 

2. Ethel asks Lucy if she can borrow the cloche Lucy wore in “Ricky Loses His Voice” (S2;E9), the last time that the show had a 1920s theme. It should be noted that it is not the exact same costume piece. 

The episode opens with Alberto Calderon playing the huge conga drum in a rehearsal scene with Ricky.  Calderon even has a line.  In this scene, all the members of the Ricky Ricardo Orchestra are playing conga drums, with the exception of Nancy the harpist. 

Bill Parker drops by to ask a favor of his old friend Ricky.  The theatre he is using for auditions for his upcoming Broadway musical has been taken over by a television show.  In the early 1950s,

due to the increased production of television programs,

many legitimate theatres were rented by TV producers and networks.  Some theatres eventually reverted to presenting live theatres, while others remained TV studios or were closed entirely when new studios were built specifically designed for television.  

We also learn that Parker has decided to return to the theatre after a career in movies – waiting till “pictures make up their mind”.  We never learn exactly what he means by that. 

Dayton Lummis (Bill Parker) was born on August 8, 1903, in Summit, NJ. On the series he went on to play Mr. Eaton, Lucy’s potential publisher, in “Lucy Writes a Novel” (S3;E24), as well as Mr. Sherman, Ricky’s MGM Studio rep, in “Hollywood at Last!” (S4;E16).

Ethel translates the Variety headline for Lucy: “Parker Preps Prod for Pitts Preem” as “Parker Prepares Production for Pittsburgh Premiere.” The article goes on to say “William Parker, formerly legit prod, currently top pic exec, seeks thesps for flesh tuner.” Ethel doesn’t translate this section, but it means that “William Parker, formerly a theatrical producer, currently a top motion picture executive, is casting actors for a live stage musical.” Variety began publishing in 1905 and is still around today. It has long been known for its industry jargon, or ‘Varietyese,’ as it has been dubbed.

The musical is titled “The Professor and the Co-Ed” and it sounds reminiscent of Good News, a real-life 1927 legit tuner (Varietyese for ‘stage musical’) also set on a college campus in the roaring ’20s. Good News was made into a film in 1930 and then remade in 1947. 

King Cat has his own ‘hip’ language, using words and phrases that the gang barely understand. 

• “Let’s drag it, baby!”
• “Man, that’s the coolest!”
• “Frantic, man!  Frantic!”
• “Dad, this cat’s real nervous!”
• “He thinks we’re really wiggy, man!” 
  
• “That coat’s a gasser!” 

All three versions of Good News include the song "The Varsity Drag,” which Fred and Ethel sing in this episode. A musical about college co-eds must have been familiar territory to the Arnazes. Too Many Girls was Desi Arnaz’s 1939 Broadway debut and the 1940 film version introduced (literally) Desi to Lucy.

When Mr. Parker innocently comes for dinner at the Ricardos, Lucy and the Mertzes burst into a rousing rendition of “There’s No Business Like Show Business” from Irving Berlin’s Annie Get Your Gun (1949). The song would later be quoted by Lucy in “Baby Pictures” (S3;E5) and be sung by its originator, Ethel Merman, in a 1964 episode of “The Lucy Show.”

This is the first of four episodes where Lucille Ball wears this colorful red and blue dress by Elois Jenssen. 

Lucy is taught to jitterbug by Arthur ‘King Cat’ Walsh, a Canadian-born actor / dancer using his own name on the show. Appropriately enough, he made his film debut playing a jitterbugging soldier in Stage Door Canteen (1943). He previously appeared with Lucy in two MGM musicals, Ziegfeld Follies (1945) and Easy to Wed (1946), both times playing office boys.

The tune that Lucy and Walsh jitterbug to is called “Stompin’ at the Savoy,” a 1934 jazz standard composed by Edgar Sampson. It is named after the famed Harlem nightspot the Savoy Ballroom in New York City, not for the equally famous London hotel.

Lucille and King Cat have three dance sequences together: 

1. Lucy’s first lesson, in her apartment, where she is tossed around like a rag doll, even losing her shoes.
2. The audition at the Tropicana, where Lucy and King Cat execute the Jitterbug flawlessly.
3. The final performance, where Lucy’s eyes are dilated and she comically makes a mess of the dance.   

Each one of these is integral for the final scene (and the title) to pay off. Lucille Ball would throw herself fully into learning whatever was required for the script that week. Whether it was playing the saxophone, twirling pizza dough, or operating a pottery wheel.  Ball would hire an expert in the field to teach her the skill, and often (as with Walsh) give them a role in the show. 

Ricky tries to read the Snellen Chart. The chart was named after the Dutch ophthalmologist Herman Snellen, who developed the chart in 1862. Ophthalmologists now use an improved chart known as the LogMAR chart.

Ricky’s mis-pronunciation of "homecoming” was not scripted. Desi really did have trouble saying that word.

Shepard Menken plays the Ricardo’s Optometrist. He had previously appeared as Jean Valjean Raymond in “The Adagio” (S1;E12) and as Mr. Abbott in “Lucy Becomes a Sculptress” (S2;E15). He will return to the series to play Charpontier, a shady sidewalk artist, in “Paris at Last” (S5;E18). 

We see the eye doctor through Lucy’s blurry vision, a camera technique that was rarely used in “I Love Lucy”.  Generally, the camera was an anonymous observer and did not take on the perspective of the characters. 

Ethel refers to the stumbling Lucy as ‘Miss Magoo’, a reference to Mr. Magoo, a nearsighted cartoon character voiced by Jim Backus that first appeared in 1949. Mr. Magoo cartoon shorts were nominated for Oscars in 1950 and 1952, and would go on to win the award in both 1954 and 1956. In this time period, many films were preceded by a cartoons when shown in cinemas.

In the Tropicana audience for the performance / audition is Hazel Pierce, Lucille Ball’s camera and lighting stand-in and frequent background player. Desi’s stand-in Bennett Green is her table-mate. 

Louis A. Nicoletti plays a Tropicana waiter who Lucy mistakes for King Cat during her short-sighted dance. Vivian’s stand-in Renita Reachi sits at the table with Bill Parker. 

We never learn if Lucy, King Cat, or the Mertzes got the parts in “The Professor and the Co-Ed” but it is hard to imagine them working on Broadway doing eight shows a week!  

FAST FORWARD in FOCUS!

Lucy Carmichael has vision problems in a 1964 episode of “The Lucy Show.”  After getting contact lenses, Lucy looses one in the batter for a batch of  chocolate cakes! 

“Here’s Lucy” also did their version of a 1920s college musical comedy in a 1970 episode titled “Lucy The Co-Ed” (HL S3;E6).  The musical also features the song “Varsity Drag” from Good News.

The classic coonskin coat is also worn in 1970 on “Here’s Lucy” by Craig Carter (Desi Arnaz Jr.) and (in a different episode) crooner Rudy Vallee. 

This episode was recreated as part of “I Love Lucy Live On Stage” which toured the country.